Application catalog on an application server for wireless devices

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and computer program for providing an application catalog of served applications and data to wireless devices on a wireless network seeking to download the applications and/or data. The application catalog is displayable to a wireless device across the wireless network, and the application catalog lists at least a plurality of applications and/or data downloadable to wireless devices and the application catalog is optimized based upon predetermined criteria such that the preferred application and/or data to be downloaded by a wireless device is initially displayed to a wireless device attempting to access the application catalog.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present Application for Patent is a Continuation of patentapplication Ser. No. 13/676,899 entitled “APPLICATION CATALOG ON ANAPPLICATION SERVER FOR WIRELESS DEVICES” filed Nov. 14, 2012, pending,which in turn is a Continuation of patent application Ser. No.10/187,694 entitled “APPLICATION CATALOG ON AN APPLICATION SERVER FORWIRELESS DEVICES” filed Jul. 1, 2002, each of which is assigned to theassignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein inits entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to wireless networks andcomputer communications across the wireless networks. More particularly,the invention relates to the provision of an application catalog thatlists a plurality of applications and data that are served to wirelessdevices across a wireless network, and the application catalog displaysavailable applications and data to the wireless device in an optimalmanner

II. Description of the Related Art

Wireless devices, such as cellular telephones, communicate packetsincluding voice and data over a wireless network. In existing wirelessnetworks, if the user of the wireless device desires to download and usea software application, the user will typically either call a serviceprovider or contact the service provider through another electronicmeans, such as through a separate Internet access, and the serviceprovider will either transmit the application to the wireless deviceacross the wireless network or allow the user access a network site withthe wireless device through the wireless network where the applicationis downloadable or accessible.

The applications and data that are downloadable to the wireless devicecan also have overhead implications that the end-user is unaware of,such as large size, popularity of download, or cost to the provider inmaking a copy available. These factors affecting download are currentlyaccounted for at the service provider side at the time and manner ofdownload. Accordingly, it is to the optimization of application and datatransfer across a wireless network that the present invention isprimarily directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a system, method, and computer program for providing anapplication catalog of served applications and data on a wirelessnetwork to wireless devices seeking to download the applications and/ordata. The application catalog is displayable to a wireless device acrossthe wireless network, and the application catalog lists at least aplurality of applications and/or data downloadable to wireless devicesand the application catalog is optimized based upon predeterminedcriteria such that the preferred application and/or data to bedownloaded by a wireless device is initially displayed to a wirelessdevice attempting to access the application catalog.

The system for providing an application catalog for served applicationson a wireless network particularly includes one or more wireless devicesin selective communication with the wireless network where each wirelessdevice having and end-user thereof, and one or more application downloadservers in selective communication to the wireless network, with eachapplication download server selectively in communication with the one ormore wireless devices and selectively downloading applications thereto.The application download server further optimizes the applicationcatalog based upon predetermined criteria, such as overhead concerns,financial criteria, or the like, whereby the preferred application to bedownloaded by a wireless device is initially displayed to a wirelessdevice attempting to access the application catalog.

The method for providing an application catalog for served applicationsfor wireless devices on a wireless network includes the steps ofoptimizing an application catalog on an application download server inselective communication to the wireless network, the application catalogoptimized based upon predetermined criteria such that the preferredapplication to be downloaded by a wireless device is initially displayedto a wireless device requesting access to the application catalog, thencontacting the server from a wireless device and requesting, from thewireless device, the application catalog. Then the method includes thesteps of transmitting the optimal application catalog from theapplication catalog to the wireless device, and displaying the optimalapplication catalog to the end-user of the wireless device. Theapplication catalog can be optimized based on one or a number ofpredetermined criteria, such as end-user ratings, download rates,application server overhead, marketing, advertising costs, applicationdownload costs to the end-user, and bandwidth constraints.

The system and method provide an optimal application catalog on anapplication download server that lists downloadable applications anddata to wireless devices that selectively communicate therewith andrequest the application catalog for viewing. The application catalog isoptimizable based upon one or a number of predetermined criteria of thehost of the application download server. Furthermore, the applicationcatalog can be dynamically optimized in accord with any change indynamic predetermined criteria, such as end-user ratings, availablebandwidth, and overhead constraints.

Other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention willbecome apparent after review of the hereinafter set forth BriefDescription of the Drawings, Detailed Description of the Invention, andthe Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a representative diagram of a wireless network and thecomputer hardware and wireless devices that can be used within theapplication catalog system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the hardware components of the wirelessnetwork providing communication between different wireless devices, theapplication download server, and a separate database of storedapplications and data.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the wireless device side componentsinteracting with the carrier side components, and the carrier sidecomponents provide the optimized application catalog.

FIG. 4 is an application catalog displayed on a wireless device to anend-user.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the process executing on anapplication download server receiving a request from a wireless devicefor an application catalog, transmitting an appropriate optimizedapplication catalog to the wireless device, and selectively furtheroptimizing the application catalog with any relevant gathered data.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the process executing on a wirelessdevice in communication with the application download server of FIG. 5,wherein the wireless device has requested, received, and displayed theoptimized application catalog and selectively sends end-user data to theapplication download server to assist in further optimization of theapplication catalog.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the figures in which like numerals represent likeelements throughout, FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the presentinventive system 10 for providing an optimized application catalog toone or more wireless devices, such as cellular telephone 12, incommunication across a wireless network 14 with at least one applicationdownload server 16 that selectively downloads software applications orother data to the wireless devices across a wireless communicationportal or other data access to the wireless network 14. As shown here,the wireless device can be a cellular telephone 12, with a graphicsdisplay 13, a personal digital assistant 18, a pager 20 with a graphicsdisplay, which is shown here as a two-way text pager, or even a separatecomputer platform 22 that has a wireless communication portal, and mayotherwise have a wired connection 24 to a network or the Internet. Thesystem 10 can thus be performed on any form of remote computer moduleincluding a wireless communication portal, including without limitation,wireless modems, PCMCIA cards, access terminals, personal computers,access terminals, telephones without a display or keypad, or anycombination or sub-combination thereof.

The system 10 for providing an application catalog, such as theapplication catalog 87 shown in FIG. 4, for served applications and datato the wireless devices 12,18,20,22 on the wireless network 14. The term“application” as used herein is intended to encompass executable andnonexecutable software files, raw data, aggregated data, patches, andother code segments. In the system 10, one or more wireless devices12,18,20,22 that are in selective communication with the wirelessnetwork 14, each has and end-user thereof that typical controls thecommunication connection to the wireless network 14.

One or more application download servers, such as application downloadserver 16 shown here on a local server-side network 26 or other computerelements in communication with the wireless network 14, such as a storedapplication database 28 that contains software applications and datathat are accessible and downloadable to be executable on the wirelessdevices 12,18,20,22. There is also shown a stand-alone server 32, asecond application download server 30, and in a separate database 28containing applications and data for the wireless devices 12,18,20,22.All of the components can work in tandem to provide the applicationcatalog 87 and optimization thereof as is further described herein.However, it should be noted that all server-side functions can beperformed on one server, such as application download server 16.Further, any computer or server-side computer platform can provideseparate services and processes to the wireless devices 12,18,20,22across the wireless network 14.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that more fully illustrates the components ofthe wireless network 14 and interrelation of the elements of the system10. The wireless network 14 is merely exemplary and can include anysystem whereby remote modules, such as wireless devices 12,18,20,22,communicate over-the-air between and among each other and/or between andamong components of a wireless network 14, including, withoutlimitation, wireless network carriers and/or servers. The applicationdownload server 16 and the stored application database 28, and otherserver-side components, will be present on the cellular data networkwith any other components that are needed to provide cellulartelecommunication services. The application download server 16communicates with a carrier network 40 through a data link, such as theInternet, a secure LAN, WAN, or other network. The carrier network 40controls messages (generally in the form of data packets) sent to amessaging service controller (“MSC”) 42. The carrier network 40communicates with the MSC 42 by a network, the Internet and/or POTS(“plain ordinary telephone system”). Typically, the network or Internetconnection between the carrier network 40 and the MSC 42 transfers data,and the POTS transfers voice information. The MSC 42 is connected tomultiple base stations (“BTS”) 44. In a similar manner to the carriernetwork, the MSC 42 is typically connected to the BTS 44 by both thenetwork and/or Internet for data transfer and POTS for voiceinformation. The BTS 44 ultimately broadcasts messages wirelessly to thewireless devices, such as cellular telephone 12, by short messagingservice (“SMS”), or other over-the-air methods known in the art.

The wireless device, such as cellular telephone 12, has a computerplatform 50 that can receive and execute software applicationstransmitted from the application download server 16. The computerplatform 50 includes, among other components, an application-specificintegrated circuit (“ASIC”) 52, or other processor, microprocessor,logic circuit, programmable gate array, or other data processing device.The ASIC 52 is installed at the time of manufacture of the wirelessdevice and is not normally upgradeable. The ASIC 52 or other processorexecutes an application programming interface (“API”) layer 54 thatinterfaces with any resident programs in the memory 56 of the wirelessdevice. The memory can be comprised of read-only or random-access memory(RAM and ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, flash cards, or any memory common tocomputer platforms. The computer platform 50 also includes a localdatabase 58 that can hold the software applications not actively used inmemory 56, such as the software applications downloaded from theapplication download server 16. The local database 58 is typicallycomprised of one or more flash memory cells, but can be any secondary ortertiary storage device as known in the art, such as magnetic media,EPROM, EEPROM, optical media, tape, or soft or hard disk.

Cellular telephones, such as celluar telephone 12, themselves are beingmanufactured with increased computing capabilities and are becomingtantamount to personal computers and hand-held personal digitalassistants (“PDAs”). These “smart” cellular telephones allow softwaredevelopers to create software applications that are downloadable andexecutable on the processor, such as ASIC 52, of the cellular device.The wireless device, such as cellular telephone 12, can download manytypes of applications, such as games and stock monitors, or simply datasuch as news and sports-related data. The downloaded data or executedapplications can be immediately displayed on the display 13 or stored inthe local database 58 when not in use. The software applications can betreated as a regular software application resident on the wirelessdevice 12,18,20,22, and the user can selectively upload stored residentapplications from the local database 58 to memory 56 for execution onthe API 54. The user of the wireless device 12,18,20,22 can alsoselectively delete a software application from the local database 58. Asa result, end-users of cellular telephones 12 can customize theirtelephones with programs, such as games, printed media, stock updates,news, or any other type of information or program available for downloadfrom application download servers through the wireless network 14.

In developing wireless networks 14, if the end-user of the wirelessdevice desires to download and use a software application, the end-userwill attempt to connect to the application download server 16 throughbridging a communication connection to the wireless network 14, andattempt to download the desired software application. Once the wirelessdevice contacts the application download server 16, an initial contactis made and the application download server 16 can determines whatapplications and data are available to that wireless device 12,18,20,22and send the appropriate information, such as a menu or catalog, fordisplay on the wireless device 12,18,20,22 so the end-user can learn ofthe available applications.

The conveyance of the menu or catalog however has an associated overheadto the application download server 16, in both size of the applicationto provide the menu and in the applications that can be downloadedtherefrom. Consequently, a poorly arranged menu at the end-user cannecessitate further menu downloads by the user, which increases usage ofthe expensive bandwidth of the wireless network 14 and cost to theend-user. The system 10 therefore provides an optimized applicationcatalog (menu) to the end-user to facilitate application and datadownload across the wireless network 14.

Another embodiment of the system is illustrated in the block diagram ofFIG. 3, wherein the component interaction of the wireless device side 60and the carrier side 62 (such as a cellular telecommunications carrier)is shown. On the wireless device side 60, the application provisioningclient 64 is activated by the end-user to access the applicationdownload server 16 resident on the carrier side. The user administrator66 allows the user to control the view of the application catalog, oncereceived at the wireless device side 60, and ultimate user applications72 interacted with at the carrier side 62. In one embodiment of the useradministrator 66, the end-user of the wireless device can override theoptimal display of the application catalog 87 (FIG. 4) if so desired.The user administrator 66 can be integrated with the applicationprovisioning client 64 or be a separate object on the wireless deviceplatform 50.

On the carrier side 62, the carrier applications view manager 68 is onthe carrier network and interfaces with the carrier's applicationdownload server 76 (such as application download server 16), the userapplications 72 stored and in execution, and other server-sidecomponents, such as databases 78,80,82 in the data collection andstorage 74. The carrier applications view manager 68 provides a dynamicview of the application catalog 87 (FIG. 4) to the wireless devices12,18,20,22 based upon the input and interaction with the wirelessdevice, and local control exercised by the carrier. The carrieradministrator 70 allows the carrier to control the carrier applicationsview manager 68 and thus ultimately control the interaction with thewireless device contacting the carrier side 62. The data collection andstorage 74 is shown as embodied with a database for application userratings 78, application revenue 80, and application advertisements 82,all of which can form singly in or in tandem the predetermined criteriato optimize the applications catalog 87.

FIG. 4 is a partial view 86 of the display 13 having an applicationcatalog 87 shown thereon. The application catalog 87 lists at least aplurality of applications 88 downloadable to wireless devices12,18,20,22, and the displayed applications are optimizable based uponpredetermined criteria such that the preferred application to bedownloaded by a wireless device is initially displayed to a wirelessdevice attempting to access the application catalog 87. The optimizationof the application catalog 87 can occur based upon performance enhancingcriteria, such as optimal bandwidth utilization, or economic reasons tothe carrier or host of the application download server 16, or somecombination of predetermined criteria. The predetermined criteria caninclude end-user ratings sent from the wireless devices, such as theratings stored in database 78, and the application catalog 87 can bedynamically optimized based upon ongoing end-users ratings as received.The predetermined criteria can also be based upon the identity of thespecific user of the wireless device 12,18,20, 22 attempting to accessthe application catalog 87, in conjunction with some marketing orpreference profile of that end-user.

In regard to performance aspects, the predetermined criteria can bebased upon the overhead of the server to download the application, orthe most commonly downloaded applications (wherein the most commonlydownload applications appear first to the end-user). And other marketingand advertising concerns can be accounted for at the carrier side todetermine application catalog 87 presentation, such as if theapplications are sold to wireless devices and the predetermined criteriacan application sales data, wherein the greatest profit makingapplications for the carrier can be first listed on the applicationcatalog 87. Other fiscal predetermined criteria can be advertising timesales, simple slot (list placement) purchase, or other criteria thatinure a benefit to the carrier in arranging the application catalog 87.

The predetermined criteria can be stored on the same server that servesthe applications transmitted to the server, such as application downloadserver 16, and that server optimizes the application catalog 87.Alternately, the predetermined data and application catalog 87 can bestored on other server-side or networked components, such as database 28and server 32 (FIG. 1), and the server receives predetermined criteriafrom another source and then optimizes the application catalog 87, orthe server can simply receive an optimized application catalog 87 toprovide with the server's particular served applications and data. Anyof the functionality as described herein can be shared among severalcomputer devices, as would be known in the art.

As is further shown in the application catalog 87 of FIG. 4, theend-user can be allowed to override the optimal list appearance, such aswith a next screen button 89. Other controls can be provided at thewireless device 12,18,20,22 whereby the end-user can customize thewireless device to limit the manner of display of the applicationcatalog 87.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing one embodiment of the process executed onthe application download server 16 to provide the optimized applicationcatalog 87 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5. In the process, theapplication download server 16 first optimizes the application catalog87 based upon one or more desired predetermined criteria, as shown atstep 90. This step occurs here before any subsequent display of anapplication catalog 87 such that most optimal application catalog 87 isdisplayed to the wireless device 12,18,20,22, but can occur at any timeon the server 16. Once the application download server 16 receives therequest from the wireless device to display the application catalog 87,as shown at step 92, it is determined which application catalog 87 (ifso embodied) to display for the particular wireless device 12,18,20,22requests the application catalog 87. The type of application catalog 87sent can be varied as a function of optimization or simply due to thespecific capabilities of the wireless device.

Once the specific application catalog 87 to send to the wireless devicehas been determined at step 94, the chosen optimal application catalog87 is transmitted across the wireless network 14 to the wireless device12,18,20, 22 for display thereon, as shown at step 96. Aftertransmission of the application catalog 87, a determination is made asto whether an application or data is requested, as shown at decision 98.Decision 98 is a generic determination and if some application and datais requested, a predefined transmission of the application or data issent, as shown by predefined process 100. After the predefined process100, or if there was not a request for applications or data at decision98, a determination is made as to whether there is any data present toupdate the predetermined criteria, as shown at decision 102. Examples ofthe data would be ratings data sent from the wireless device12,18,20,22, recordation of the specific number of the applicationsdownloaded, or recordation of the technical aspects of the download. Ifthere is no data for application catalog 87 optimization at decision102, then the process returns to wait and receive a request from awireless device to send an application catalog at step 92. Otherwise, ifthere is data present to optimize the application catalog 87 at decision102, then the process returns to step 90 and optimizes the applicationcatalog 87 with the new data.

The flowchart of FIG. 6 illustrates the parallel process on the wirelessdevice 12,18,20,22 in communication with the application download server16 executing the process shown in FIG. 5. The wireless device12,18,20,22 sends a request to the application download server 16 toreceive an application catalog 87, as shown at step 104, and then adetermination is made as to whether the requested application catalog 87was received, as shown at decision 108. If the application catalog 87was not received at decision 108, then an error is output to theend-user of the wireless device, as shown at step 106, and the processterminates. Otherwise, once the application catalog 87 is received atdecision 108, the application catalog 87 (preferably sent in optimizedform from the application download server 16) displays the applicationcatalog 87 on the display of the wireless device, such as display 13 oncellular telephone 12, to the end-user, as shown at step 110.

After display of the application catalog 87 in step 110, a determinationis made as to whether the end-user has requested the application and/ordata from the application download server 16, as shown at decision 112.If not, decision 112 is reiterated as the process enters a wait-stateuntil an action is taken by the end-user, such as the request of anapplication or data, or specific end-user termination of the process. Ifthe end-user has requested the download of applications and/or data atdecision 112, then the wireless device 12,18,20,22 downloads anddisplays the requested application and/or data on the wireless device12,18,20,22, as shown at step 114. Once the application and/or data hasbeen downloaded and displayed, a determination is made as to whether theend-user data is present to send to the application download server 16(or other networked device) for optimization of the application catalog87, as shown at decision 116. An example of such data would be anend-user rating of the downloaded application and/or data. If there isno data present at decision 116 to send to the application downloadserver 16 or other computer device for application catalog 87optimization, then the process terminates. Otherwise, the end-user datais sent from the wireless device 12,18,20,22 to the application downloadserver 16 or computer device across the wireless network 14 forapplication catalog 87 optimization as shown at step 118, and theprocess on the wireless device then terminates.

The system 10 thus includes a method for providing an applicationcatalog 87 for served applications for wireless devices 12,18,20,22 on awireless network 14 including the steps of optimizing an applicationcatalog 87, preferably on an application download server 16 in selectivecommunication to the wireless network 14, based upon predeterminedcriteria such that the preferred application to be downloaded by awireless device 12,18,20,22 is initially displayed to a wireless devicerequesting access to the application catalog 87, as shown in FIG. 4. Themethod further includes the step of contacting the server from awireless device 12,18,20,22, as shown at step 92, requesting from thewireless device the application catalog 87, as shown at step 104,transmitting the optimal application catalog 87 to the wireless device,as shown at step 96, and displaying the optimal application catalog 87to the end-user of the wireless device, such as shown at step 114 and inFIG. 4. The method can additionally include the step of overriding thedisplay of the optimal application catalog at the end-user, such asshown through the change view button 89 in FIG. 4.

The step of optimizing an application catalog 87 based uponpredetermined criteria can be optimizing the application catalog basedupon one or many criteria, including end-user ratings sent from thewireless devices 12,18,20,22. Thus, the method would then furtherinclude the steps of generating end-user ratings for one or moreapplications from one or more wireless devices 12,18,20,22 and receivingthe end-user ratings at the application download server 16 or othercomputer device, prior to the step of optimizing the application catalog87. The step of optimizing the application catalog can also includeoptimization based upon, at least, the specific user of the wirelessdevice 12,18,20,22 attempting to access the application catalog 87, theoverhead of the application download server 16 or other computer deviceto download the application, or the most commonly downloadedapplications from the application download server 16 or other computerdevice.

The method can include the step of selling at least one application tothe wireless devices 12,18,20,22, and the step of optimizing anapplication catalog 87 can include optimizing the application catalog 87based upon, at least, application sales data. The step of optimizing anapplication catalog 87 can occur dynamically as the predeterminedcriteria changes. Moreover, the method can further include the steps ofdetermining the predetermined criteria for application catalog 87optimization at one computer device on the wireless network 14, such assecond application download server 30, or stand-alone server 32, andtransmitting the predetermined criteria to a server optimizing theapplication catalog 87 resident to the server, such as applicationdownload server 16.

In view of the method being executable on the computer platform of awireless device 12,18,20,22, the present invention includes a programresident in a computer readable medium, where the program directs aserver or other computer device having a computer platform to performthe steps of the method. The computer readable medium can be the memoryof the application download server 16, or can be in a connectivedatabase, such as database 28. Further, the computer readable medium canbe in a secondary storage media that is loadable onto a wireless devicecomputer platform, such as a magnetic disk or tape, optical disk, harddisk, flash memory, or other storage media as is known in the art.

In the context of FIGS. 5 and 6, the method may be implemented, forexample, by operating portion(s) of the wireless network 14 to execute asequence of machine-readable instructions, such as wireless platform 50,the application download server 16, and stand-alone server 32. Theinstructions can reside in various types of signal-bearing or datastorage primary, secondary, or tertiary media. The media may comprise,for example, RAM (not shown) accessible by, or residing within, thecomponents of the wireless network 14. Whether contained in RAM, adiskette, or other secondary storage media, the instructions may bestored on a variety of machine-readable data storage media, such as DASDstorage (e.g., a conventional “hard drive” or a RAID array), magnetictape, electronic read-only memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM), flashmemory cards, an optical storage device (e.g. CD-ROM, WORM, DVD, digitaloptical tape), paper “punch” cards, or other suitable data storage mediaincluding digital and analog transmission media.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative embodiments of theinvention, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, although elements of theinvention may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural iscontemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless device, comprising: a processor; awireless communication interface, coupled to said processor; a display,coupled to said processor; and a memory, coupled to said processor;wherein: said processor is configured to request an application catalogfrom an application server over a wireless network, the applicationcatalog comprising a plurality of applications that are configured ineither a first set of preferred applications or a second set ofapplications based on at least one ranking criteria that includes, forone or more of the plurality of applications, a fiscal factor related toprofit associated with purchasing of the one or more of the plurality ofapplications, to receive the application catalog via said wirelesscommunication interface, store said application catalog in said memory,and display said application catalog on said display in accordance witha prioritized presentation scheme that presents the first set ofpreferred applications more prominently than the second set ofapplications based on the fiscal factor, wherein the prioritizedpresentation scheme of the application catalog is changeable based uponan end-user input.
 2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the atleast one ranking criteria further includes preferential list placementwithin the application catalog that is allocated to an advertiser forthe one or more of the plurality of applications.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein each application in the plurality of applications is sortedinto one of the first set of preferred applications within theapplication catalog and the second set of applications within theapplication catalog.
 4. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to: detect the end-user input, and override theprioritized presentation scheme of the application catalog in responseto the end-user input.
 5. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein theend-user input corresponds to selection of a virtual button that isdisplayed to an end-user via the display.
 6. A method of obtaining anapplication to download onto a wireless device, comprising: requestingan application catalog from an application server on a wireless network,the application catalog comprising a plurality of applications that areconfigured in either a first set of preferred applications or a secondset of applications based on at least one ranking criteria thatincludes, for one or more of the plurality of applications, a fiscalfactor related to profit associated with purchasing of the one or moreof the plurality of applications; receiving the application catalog; andpresenting the application catalog on a user interface of the wirelessdevice in accordance with a prioritized presentation scheme thatpresents the first set of preferred applications more prominently thanthe second set of applications based on the fiscal factor, wherein theprioritized presentation scheme of the application catalog is changeablebased upon an end-user input.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the atleast one ranking criteria further includes preferential list placementwithin the application catalog that is allocated to an advertiser forthe one or more of the plurality of applications.
 8. The method of claim6, wherein each application in the plurality of applications is sortedinto one of the first set of preferred applications within theapplication catalog and the second set of applications within theapplication catalog.
 9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:detecting the end-user input; and overriding the prioritizedpresentation scheme of the application catalog in response to theend-user input.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the end-user inputcorresponds to selection of a virtual button that is displayed to anend-user.
 11. A wireless device, comprising: means for requesting anapplication catalog from an application server on a wireless network,the application catalog comprising a plurality of applications that areconfigured in either a first set of preferred applications or a secondset of applications based on at least one ranking criteria thatincludes, for one or more of the plurality of applications, a fiscalfactor related to profit associated with purchasing of the one or moreof the plurality of applications; means for receiving the applicationcatalog; and means for presenting the application catalog on thewireless device in accordance with a prioritized presentation schemethat presents the first set of preferred applications more prominentlythan the second set of applications based on the fiscal factor, whereinthe prioritized presentation scheme of the application catalog ischangeable based upon an end-user input.
 12. The wireless device ofclaim 11, wherein the at least one ranking criteria further includespreferential list placement within the application catalog that isallocated to an advertiser for the one or more of the plurality ofapplications.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein each application inthe plurality of applications is sorted into one of the first set ofpreferred applications within the application catalog and the second setof applications within the application catalog.
 14. The wireless deviceof claim 11, further comprising: means for detecting the end-user input;and means for overriding the prioritized presentation scheme of theapplication catalog in response to the end-user input.
 15. The wirelessdevice of claim 14, wherein the end-user input corresponds to selectionof a virtual button that is displayed to an end-user.
 16. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions storedthereon, comprising: a first set of instructions for requesting anapplication catalog from an application server on a wireless network,the application catalog comprising a plurality of applications that areconfigured in either a first set of preferred applications or a secondset of applications based on at least one ranking criteria thatincludes, for one or more of the plurality of applications, a fiscalfactor related to profit associated with purchasing of the one or moreof the plurality of applications; a second set of instructions forreceiving the application catalog; and a third set of instructions forpresenting the application catalog on a wireless device in accordancewith a prioritized presentation scheme that presents the first set ofpreferred applications more prominently than the second set ofapplications based on the fiscal factor, wherein the prioritizedpresentation scheme is changeable after the application catalog isreceived at the wireless device based upon an end-user input.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the atleast one ranking criteria further includes preferential list placementwithin the application catalog that is allocated to an advertiser forthe one or more of the plurality of applications.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein each application in theplurality of applications is sorted into one of the first set ofpreferred applications within the application catalog and the second setof applications within the application catalog.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising: a fourth setof instructions for detecting the end-user input; and a fifth set ofinstructions for overriding the prioritized presentation scheme of theapplication catalog in response to the end-user input.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein theend-user input corresponds to selection of a virtual button that isdisplayed to an end-user.